patrick.net

realtor says

Yes, and you can do so because I always put my real name over my writings. You know, Patrick could probably have gotten a huge amount of business from the between one and two million Realtors out there, surely his biggest potential market, if he made his system accurate and became property licensed to do appraisals. But he has expended a very great deal of time effort and money trying to convince everyone that we are all crooks, liars, and incompetent. A disinformation campaign any modern political consultant would be proud of. How many “never do business with” lists do you suppose he is on. And do you expect us to be nicy nice when he unilaterally declared all out war on us. Who are the only competitors of his valuation business? We are. Coincidence? Surely you are not that naive.
Stephen Manion - Realtor, Broker

This was not very convincing...I would suggest that it is better to not argue a point if you can't supply a halfway compelling perspective. I'm just trying to imagine Patrick as an appraiser ... PatricK: "well, judging by rents - this home is worth 200,000 ... doubt the bank will approve your 450k loan, sorry" Buyers Agent: "He's off his gourd! I know a truly professional appraiser ... he'll swing by tomorrow and get an appraisal for 450k so you can move into your new, cozy HOME!"

Oh sorry ... didn't see where you said "make his service accurate" - the whole point of his system is that it IS accurate from the buyers perspective - if you'll be financially better off by renting than you will by buying, the 'accurate' prices given by the agents and their appraisers (using recent sales ... circular logic in my mind) are TOO HIGH. Naturally, from the seller's perspective the 'right' price is as much as can be obtained. BTW I do computer repair work for realtors and loan brokers, who are often infected by viruses (and potentially liable if private financial information from their clients, stored on these infected PCs, is leaked to identify thieves) - I charge 400$ per hour, which by my estimate is an excellent price for what you get (price is based upon going rate for such services, only one data point so far (mine) but I'm sure it's accurate).

Very simple. At the end it is all about supply and demand (domestic demand, excluding foreign cash buyers).

Most factors pointing to lower demand:
1. High unemployment rate
2. Rising interest rate
3. Would-be move-up buyers trapped with negative equity
4. High inflation in non-housing items such as energy and food
5. Less sub prime lending; fewer people qualify for mortgage

Most factors pointing to more supply:
1. Retiring baby boomers who need to trade down
2. Foreclosures and short sales; shadow inventory

There is no bottom until supply meets demand. Home prices cannot go up until demand out grows supply, or people's real income after tax after non-housing necessities go up.